Football team defeated by Concordia Chicago, 12-7

Despite a spirited comeback effort, the Olivet College football team was defeated by Concordia University Chicago, 12-7, Saturday afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

There was no scoring in the first half. The Cougars put the first six points on the scoreboard when Justin Peacock scored from one yard out midway through the third quarter. The PAT kick was blocked. Peacock found the end zone from 11 yards out with 5:20 left in the game. The two-point conversion attempt failed.

After Concordia missed a 37-yard field goal with 2:05 remaining, the Comets took over at their own 20-yard line. On the eighth play of the drive, sophomore quarterback C.J. Gregory (Canton/Plymouth) connected with freshman Josh Baggerly (Battle Creek/Pennfield) for a 12-yard scoring strike. Freshman Graham Lockwood's (Haslett/Williamston) PAT kick split the uprights to make the score 12-7 with seven seconds showing on the clock. Olivet successfully recovered the on-side kick, but could not do anything after that.

The Comets finished the game with 341 yards of total offense. Senior Pat Clasgens (Livonia/Stevenson) topped the ground game with nine carries for 57 yards. Gregory carried the ball two times for 40 yards. Sophomore Nick McCleary (Battle Creek/ Harper Creek) threw for 187 yards on 16-of-28 passing. Gregory was 5-for-6 for 26 yards. Sophomore James Williams (Battle Creek/Central) topped the receivers with nine catches for 94 yards. Defensively, junior Chris Behnke (Olivet) had 14 tackles, including nine solo stops and 3.5 for loss yardage.

Concordia posted 371 total offensive yards, including 301 through the air. Peacock had 28 rushes for 133 yards. Mike Marotta was 16-for-27. The leading receiver was Mike Egebrecht with six receptions for 170 yards. Jarin Davis led the defensive with eight tackles.

Olivet returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 26, when it travels to Naperville, Ill., to play North Central College at 6 p.m. The Comets then open Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play Saturday, Oct. 3, at Albion College.